


Is Close the Closest Star?

by addictinthetrees



Category: Bandom, Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, Camping, M/M, Stargazing, Summer Camp, startripping
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-09
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-08-07 15:34:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7720231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/addictinthetrees/pseuds/addictinthetrees
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From the moment that he saw Tyler in their church camp cabin,  Joshua William Dun knew that he was screwed. Completely and utterly screwed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In Which Josh Develops A Crush On The Good Boy

**Author's Note:**

> So I was at camp all week and the moment I got back, I knew I had to write something about it. So a lot of this is loosely based off my camp, and the title will make a lot more sense as we continue. Also, Linden is forcing me to make fun of her name in this so... gotta give her what she wants. Thank you for reading! :-)

Josh hated summer camp with a passion. He would much rather be at home crashing around on the drums or riding his skateboard or playing Mariokart or doing anything else stereotypical of a 17 year old boy. Anything but being at Camp Linden. Josh even hated the name, and he didn’t even know what the hell Linden meant. Apparently it was some kind of tree, but Josh thought they should just name it Camp Pine or Maple or some shit. Not Linden. Anything but Linden. 

It was the first day of the program, and Josh’s parents dropped him off grinning ear to ear, waving as Josh walked towards his assigned cabin. Josh sighed and swung his backpack over his shoulder. After a half mile walk, Josh found his cabin with little struggle, he had been attending the camp for several years and knew the general location of everything. He sighed once again as he saw his makeshift home for the next week. As if Camp Linden wasn’t a bad enough title, his cabin name was Hosack. At least Linden was a tree or something, Hosack literally meant nothing as far as Josh knew. Maybe it was some kind of insult, and judging by the appearance of the cabin, it probably was. What little paint remained on the exterior walls was cracked or peeling and the windows were nearly opaque with grime. Josh sighed again as he flung open the door, which responded with a creak. The cabin counselor jumped out of his cot with an overly eager expression on his face, ready to greet Josh. Josh registered that he was the fifth camper out of eight to arrive to his cabin. That was good, he didn't want any more attention drawn to himself than necessary. The counselor started saying something as Josh began to scan the room, but all he caught was something about the dinner time. 

Josh couldn't focus on a word he was hearing because the moment he looked at the face of his bunk mate, he was greeted with deep chocolate puppy dog eyes and the most beautiful smile he'd ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Josh felt as if he had been stabbed in the chest repeatedly and found it a little hard to breathe. Great. 

“Hello?” The counselor asked, snapping Josh out of his haze.

“Sorry, did you say something?” Josh asked stupidly, knowing very well he had been talking for the full 30 seconds Josh had been staring at the doe eyed boy.

“Um, yeah, I was just asking for your name?” The counselor responded, “I'm Gerard , but my camp name is The Joker, so you have to call me that when we're out of the cabin, alright?”

Josh nodded and answered the initial question, “Oh right, my name is Josh.”

“Excellent, so, this is Brendon, Mikey, Patrick, and your bunk mate is Tyler. Mikey's my little brother so you better not give him a rough time. The rest haven't shown up but I'm sure they'll be here shortly,” Gerard informed Josh.

Tyler. Tyler was art in a name, and Josh decided it was a perfect fit for the boy with a smile comparable to the stars. Josh headed over to the bunk they were sharing and shrugged his backpack off his shoulders onto the bottom bunk. Tyler had chosen the top and Josh wasn't sure why, no one ever wanted the top bunk, it was a terrible bother to get down from every time you needed something, and the chance of rolling off the edge in the middle of the night was high. 

Josh assessed the rest of the cabin, refusing to look back at Tyler, convinced his brown eyes would literally melt him. Mikey was laying on his back reading on the top of the bunk he was sharing with Patrick, who was listening to music with his earbuds in. And then there was Tyler, with eyes that Josh could feel burning holes in the back of his head and a smile bright enough to put the sun to shame. They must have all been new campers, as Josh knew practically everyone around camp and had never seen these three boys before now. Brendon, however, was something of a camp legend. He had been sneaking weed into camp for 3 years now, and before that, it was alcohol, and before that, it was fireworks. Several counselors knew, although no one could ever catch him, which meant no one could ever punish him. He and Josh had talked quite a few times and Josh considered them friends. He had no idea if Brendon even remembered him from years past but he was happy he was put in the same cabin, he'd always wanted to get to know Brendon more anyways, and maybe it would come with a few perks. 

Brendon certainly seemed to know him from past years of camp, as he jumped off the edge of his top bunk and pulled Josh into a hug as he was cheering his name and giving him a noogie. Josh had nearly forgotten about Brendon's hyperactivity and laughed as he hugged him back. 

“Josh, we haven't even talked in years and now we're in the same cabin, how crazy is that?” Brendon yelled, seemingly unable to keep his voice at a normal level.

“Woah, Brendon, did someone buy you an energy drink or something? Because that was a poor choice on their part. You don't need any help in the energy department,” Josh asked, half serious, laughing through most of his words.

“Nope, no one bought me anything,” Josh breathed a sigh of relief as Brendon paused, “I bought them myself.”

There it was. Josh sighed again, this time in disappointment. 

“I chugged 4 red bulls right before my parents dropped me off so I'm super hyped right now,” Brendon talked a mile a minute and Josh laughed again, turning to head to his bunk. He pretended not to notice Tyler staring at him and biting his chapped lips.

Maybe camp would be bearable with the hyper stoner and the unbelievably adorable boy in his cabin. Josh smiled to himself and popped his head over the edge of the top bunk to introduce himself to Tyler. Tyler jumped back, startled, and Josh giggled. They stared at each other for a few seconds, Tyler still chewing on his lip, before Josh spoke.

“So I'm Josh, as you already know, and I guess you're Tyler, as I already know,” the words made no sense as he talked, but at least they were coming out, which surprised him. 

Tyler laughed, noticing his obvious awkwardness, and if Josh thought Tyler's smile was like a painting, his laugh was a masterpiece. It sounded like bells ringing and everything beautiful about the world. Tyler hadn't even said a word to him and Josh was already falling fast.

“Well I'm glad we got that out of the way,” Tyler was still laughing as he spoke. 

It was in that moment he heard his voice, as if his smile and laugh weren't damning enough, that Joshua William Dun knew.

Joshua William Dun knew that he was screwed. Completely and utterly screwed.


	2. In which Josh climbs a tree and Brendon is an ass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brendon is an asshole and Josh is very much crushing on Tyler. What a surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All the kind words on the last chapter made me so happy. I appreciate any kudos and comments!!!

Josh flushed a deep maroon and to avoid further embarrassment, ducked back onto his cot, flashing Tyler a shaky smile as he did so. As Josh lowered himself to start unpacking his bags, he made the mistake of meeting eyes with Brendon. Brendon raised his eyebrows and made sure no one else was watching, then he pointed at Tyler, then at Josh, and started making an obscene gesture. Josh blushed even more, if it were possible, rolled his eyes, and flipped Brendon off.

This set Brendon off into a fit of laughter, rolling around in the limited room he had on his bunk and cackling. His outburst earned some raised eyebrows and confused expressions from the rest of the cabin and Josh sighed. He silently prayed that Tyler hadn't seen any of Brendon's little game of charades, and his prayer was answered when Tyler swung his head over the top bunk. Tyler was laying on his stomach on the higher bed, looking down on Josh upside down. This time, Josh was startled, jumping up and hitting his head on the bed above him. Brendon was once again off like a rocket, laughing almost to the point of tears, and now he was joined by Tyler. Josh could handle all the embarrassment in the world if it meant getting to hear Tyler laugh, so he shrugged and offered an obviously fake giggle.

“Ha ha, very funny, I can't stop laughing, wow that was hilarious,” Josh delivered in a sarcastic monotone.

Tyler’s chuckles died down but Brendon was still going strong. Tyler's mouth formed into a smirk as he mouthed, sorry. Josh shook his head.

“Don't apologize, it's that asshole’s fault,” Josh threw a pillow at Brendon, hitting him right in the head. Gerard started to chastise him for cursing, but he was interrupted by Brendon.

“Hope you know you're never going to get this back, Dun,” He said as soon as his laughing died down.

Josh rolled his eyes and diverted his attention back to Tyler. 

“So Josh Dun, huh?” Tyler obviously had no idea what to say, and reverted to biting his bottom lip again. “I like it. I'm Tyler Joseph.”

Damn it. Even his name was perfect. Tyler Joseph. Josh Dun was alright he supposed (better than Hosack at least), but Tyler Joseph was sex in a name. It was beautiful, just like the boy looking upside down at him, still continuing his nervous tick. Josh was trying to speak but nothing was coming out, and the other boy must have picked up on it.

“I like your hair.” Tyler finally said, with another smile forming on his lips. Josh ran his hand through his dyed hair.

“Thanks. It's very… blue?” Josh mentally kicked himself for saying something so stupid. 

Tyler just giggled and pulled himself back on the top bunk. Josh sighed and plopped down on the mattress. He looked up at Brendon, who was still holding his pillow. Smooth, Brendon mouthed and Josh flipped him off again, causing Brendon to throw the pillow back at him. It hit his shoulder, and it almost hurt, Brendon must have thrown it with a fair amount of force.

“What happened to me never getting it back?” Josh asked a smiling Brendon.

“I don't know, but you were starting to piss me off so I was aiming for your head.”

“Well, you missed, dumbass.”

“No cursing at Camp Linden.” Gerard sighed, clearly annoyed with the boys. 

“Sorry.” Josh shrugged and placed his pillow under his head, flashing a mischievous smile at his friend. Brendon smiled back, shrugged and laid down, pulled out his phone and began to scroll through his notifications.

Josh started to unpack his bag, shoved all of his clothes into the small dresser by his bunk and plugged his phone charger into the wall. As he was starting to finish, the door swung open and another boy walked into the cabin. He was tall and lanky, with jet black hair that was styled up. Josh heard a slight sigh from the opposite side of the room and looked up at Brendon yet again. Brendon turned toward Josh and mouthed, holy shit. And now it was Josh's turn to taunt Brendon, because it appeared he also had a bit of a crush. 

Before he had a chance, Gerard jumped up to meet the new boy, introducing himself and giving the introduction speech that Josh had previously been inattentive toward. Josh listened closely, and found that his name was Dallon Weekes, and Brendon practically swooned as soon as he was announced as Brendon's bunk mate. Josh rolled his eyes and looked at the time, noticing that whoever the other two boys were, they were late.  
Gerard also seemed to notice and turned his attention toward the six boys in his cabin. 

“Well, the other two haven't shown up yet, and technically it's recreation time, which means you guys can go and look around the campgrounds but be back in an hour, alright?” Gerard barely finished talking when Brendon was jumping out of his bed and grabbing Josh's arm.

“What the hell are you doing?” Josh asked in a harsh whisper as Brendon pulled him out of the door.

“Saving you from further embarrassment, Mr. Um thanks it's very blue. Of course your hair is blue, that's why he said he liked it.”

“I panicked! I mean, he's adorable, Brendon. Don't think I didn't see your heart eyes over Dallon.”

“At least I didn't say anything embarrassing to him.”

“You didn't say anything at all!”

They had started walking around the campground and had made it a safe distance from the cabin when Brendon stopped them.

“Here's the deal, Josh dun. Buddy, pal, homeslice. Tyler Joseph is the token child of our cabin. The goody goody, probably the closest person to being perfect I've met here. He's the poster child for the stereotype of what a Christian boy should be. And you know what that means. He's probably,” Josh interrupted him.

“Straight.”

“Yeah. Straight. Now Josh, if I know you at all, and I like to think I do, you're not the kind of guy to mess around with straight boys, are you?”

“Ok first of all, are we sure he's straight? Like, one hundred percent sure?”

“Josh. Come on.”

“Fine, okay, I'll be careful. I won't hurt him or anything, I swear.”

“Damn, you're still going to try aren't you? I mean he's cute and all, but he's not that cute. He is most certainly not Dallon Weekes cute.”

Brendon looked up at Josh with a goofy grin on his face. Josh rolled his eyes and continued to walk, taking Brendon with him. They both knew where they were headed, Brendon's favorite drinking spot. It was nearly impossible to find unless someone showed you first, and Brendon had enough liquor stashed there that a stray flame could cause a fire big enough to wipe out the whole camp. They walked mostly in silence, with Brendon muttering under his breath, thanks, it's very blue, or, are we sure he's straight, once in awhile, still making fun of Josh. He ignored him and carried on walking behind Brendon, hoping he could find the patch of woods behind the lake. 

Not even five minutes later, Brendon stopped walking, causing Josh to run straight into him. 

“Watch where you’re going, jesus, Josh.” Brendon turned around to aim his words at Josh.

“Watch where you’re stopping, Urie.” Josh replied with a roll of his eyes. 

Brendon was already storming through the heavy foliage, into a patch of grass he had cleared in the thick bushes a few years back. He had been back here with Josh a couple times, but he mostly took Ryan, who had graduated the previous year, making him ineligible to attend camp. Josh was convinced that Brendon was the only reason Ryan went to camp, he hated it almost as much as Josh did. Almost. As Josh followed through the leaves, he thought about how no one he had met actually liked camp much. Josh also thought about how maybe he could learn to like it a little more with Tyler there. Brendon stared at him as entered the long grass patch.

“Stop thinking about him.” Brendon was probably a mind reader.

“I’m not thinking about him.” But Josh was blushing.

“Right. And I'm not gay as hell. Are we just going to keep saying lies? Because I could keep going.”

“I swear to god Urie, you must be psychic.”

“Nah. I'm just not blind.”

Josh rolled his eyes.

“So where do you even stash your stuff?”

Although Josh had been here once or twice, he'd never drunk with Brendon. They weren't really on that level yet. It appeared they had gotten there though, because Brendon looked up into a tree. Josh followed his gaze up.

“You're kidding me”

“Nope. It's up there. Ryan helped me hide a few bottles last year after they realized I would bury them. They're never going to actually think I hid it in a tree.”

They stood in silence looking up before Josh spoke.

“So are you going to get it?”

“Hm. Nope. You are.”

“No I'm not, what the hell Brendon, it's your alcohol.”

“Fine, I'll make you a deal. You climb up there and get it, and I'll be your wingman with our buddy TyJo.”

Josh rolled his eyes and shook his head, realizing there was no way he was going to win here. He placed his hands on the bottom of the trunk and began to climb.

“There it is! Look at Josh go!” Brendon shouted from the ground, laughing through his words. Josh took one hand off the tree to flip Brendon off yet again. Brendon laughed harder and Josh sighed. He continued to scale up the tree, hands and knees getting scraped when a branch snapped underneath him and he almost fell. He looked down at Brendon to ask how much further he had to go when he noticed a small hole next to where Brendon was sitting. Brendon was holding a bottle of vodka. How could Josh have fallen for that, who the hell hides alcohol in a tree? As soon as Josh saw him, he realized that Brendon Urie was the biggest asshole he had met. He was glad they were friends. 

“Clink Clink, bitch!” Brendon shouted from the ground. 

Josh rolled his eyes and shouted back.

“Go to hell, Brendon Urie!”

“Already am, Joshua Dun.”

Josh sighed and began climbing down, punching Brendon in the arm as hard as he could as soon as he was within reach. 

“I guess I deserved that.”

“Yeah you did, asshole.”

Josh took the open bottle from Brendon and took a swig, his face contorting as he drank. The vodka felt warm running down his throat and burned on its way. He passed it back to Brendon and laid down with his arms under his head, closing his eyes and fantasizing about the boy with the caramel eyes and a smile to outshine the sun.


	3. In Which Josh Literally Falls For Tyler

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh really needs to work on not tripping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the long update wait! life is just super busy right now and I haven't had an opportunity to write! But the wait is over ;)

“Josh.”

“What is it, Brendon?”

“You fell asleep.”

“So why did you wake me up?”

“No reason.”

“Whatever.”

“Just that we were supposed to be back at the cabin fourty minutes ago.”

Josh woke with a start, slugging Brendon in the arm as he did so.

“Why didn't you wake me up, oh my god, Brendon, we're going to be so late, Tyler's never going to want anything to do with me if they find what we were doing, they're going to kick us out of camp and then I'll never have a chance with him, oh my god.” Josh's whole spiel came out as one rushed sentence, not even pausing when Brendon started cackling.

“Brendon.”

“Josh.”

“We're not late at all, are we?”

There was silence on Brendon's end, partnered with a smirk. He stood up slowly and then started sprint away from Josh, back through the bushes. Josh sighed and yelled, “I swear to god, I'm going to kill you, Brendon Urie!” 

He dusted himself off, and set off running towards him. Josh ignored the scratching of the twigs he was stomping through, caring only about getting to Brendon so he could beat his ass. Josh supposed he deserved it after all the events of the day. Luckily, Brendon was unsurprisingly out of shape. For a guy that played video games all day, Josh could run pretty fast, and when Brendon stopped to catch a breath, Josh saw his chance. He sprinted, full force toward his best friend and worst enemy and camp. 

Of course he didn't see the tree root right in front of him. Of course he tripped over it and face planted into the packed dirt trail below him. Of course Brendon was laughing in the close distance, no longer having to run from Josh. And most importantly, of course, Tyler Joseph was standing above him with an arm reached out to help the other boy up.

Josh grabbed the hand without hesitation, (honestly he just needed help, no ulterior motives whatsoever) and allowed Tyler to pull him up. It seemed as if he always managed to embarrass himself in front of the other. Josh didn't even know he was there and he still was a mess. As soon as he was stood upright, Josh dusted off his skinny jeans and ran a hand through his hair. His ‘thanks it's very blue’ hair that Tyler liked so much. He looked at Tyler with a small smile.

“Thanks for the hand.”

Tyler shrugged.

“It's not a big deal, honestly.”

Josh nodded and looked around to see where Brendon was inevitably watching and laughing. Josh’s dipcrap of a friend, however, was nowhere in sight. He had either continued to run away from Josh, or evaporated at the sight of Tyler. Josh was okay with either, as long as he wasn't there to add to the already awkward encounter. Just as he was wondering about where his friend had disappeared to, he noticed Tyler once again biting his lips, but this time to stifle a laugh. Josh tilted his head to the side in confusion, about to turn around and look behind him. Before he had the chance, the mystery of his missing friend had been solved when hands shoved him into Tyler’s arms. He fell once again, but this time on top of Tyler, who was laughing with Brendon. 

Brendon Urie was as good as dead.

But he was once again running off, leaving Josh on top of a laughing Tyler. In any other circumstances Josh wouldn't mind, in fact, he would most likely welcome it. Josh had, however, fallen in front of the other boy twice in the span of five minutes, and he was mortified. Josh struggled to get himself off of Tyler and onto his feet, muttering apologies that Tyler couldn't hear through his diminishing giggles. After he began to quiet down, (which Josh was quite disappointed by, he was in love with his laugh), he apologized again. 

“I'm so sorry, Brendon is such a dick. Gotta love him though.”

“Don't worry about it, it was kind of hilarious if I'm being honest.” 

Another lip bite from Tyler as he decided what to say next. He smirked as he spoke.

“Well, considering you just fell on top of me, I think you owe me. Smoothies at the camp cafè?”

“That could be arranged. How much time do we have to get back to the cabin?”

“I think we have, like, twenty at the most. But we can try and do it in time.”

Josh nodded. Cornerstone cafè was near their cabin anyways, and the coffee wasn't half bad for a summer camp. They set off walking in the direction of the store, silence except for dead leaves crunching under Josh's converse. He attempted to break the awkward air.

“Tyler?”

The other boy hummed in answer.

“Can I just ask you a ton of random questions so we don't have to walk in total silence anymore?”

A smile. An absolutely stunning smile.

“Shoot.”

“Favorite color?”

“Red.”

“Chicken nuggets or pizza?”

“Always pizza, come on, dude.”

“Hobbies?”

“Basketball. I kind of hate it though. Music is a lot better.”

“Dude, that's sick! What do you play?”

Tyler spoke quietly, obviously insecure, and Josh suddenly wondered if he shouldn't have pressed the question. 

“Um, I actually mostly sing but I've tried piano and ukulele. It's pretty dumb, I'm not very good at it.”

“Don't say that, I'm sure you're incredible.”

Tyler was blushing.

“Thank you. It honestly means a lot. Do you play anything?”

“I just kinda bang around on the drums a bit. The noise drowns out thoughts.”

Tyler frowned, and was probably wondering what kind of thoughts Josh was trying to drown out when they arrived. In a sudden realization, Josh jumped up.

“Dude, I totally forgot, I made a drink a few years back, you have to try it!”

“What's in it? I can't stand the taste of coffee, just warning you.”

“I named it the Blurryface. It's a peach, raspberry, and mint smoothie. You'll love it.”

“Why is it called the Blurryface?”

“Oh, right. It's also got a can of monster mixed in. That combined with the sugar pretty much makes everything go blurry. It's amazing.”

Tyler shrugged.

“It sounds great, but caffeine and I don't mix well at all.”

Tyler did not want to tell him that he couldn't sleep at night anyways, he certainly did not need caffeine added into the equation.

“Ah, I see. So what do you want? It's on me, as a ‘sorry I kinda fell on you’ gift.”

“I'll take the smoothie, but ditch the energy drink.”

Josh smiled and turned toward the counter to order. Tyler went to find somewhere for the boys to sit, and settled down in a little bench overlooking the lake. About 5 minutes later, Josh sat down next to him. He handed him his drink and sat in anticipation.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I want to see your reaction, come on, I swear it's good.”

Tyler smiled and took a sip.

“Oh my god! This is so good, I could drink this all day, oh god.”

Tyler looked like he was about to apologize for saying ‘god’, but decided against it. Josh smirked. Was he already corrupting Tyler? He wasn't sure he would mind.

“So you like it?”

“Like it? I love it, I've never had anything better than this.”

Josh chuckled and took a sip of his own drink, leaning back and closing his eyes.

“Well, we've got ten minutes, so might wanna hurry up.”

Josh opened one eye to see Tyler had already downed half of the smoothie and laughed.

“Actually, at the rate you're going, we should be fine.”

They sat in silence, but this time, no one made a move to break it until Tyler finished his drink. He wiped his mouth and smiled, and this time, Josh noticed dimples and sighed quietly. He was infatuated.

“We should blast,” said Tyler. 

“Yeah, probably.”

“I really liked talking and stuff, by the way. Thanks for the smoothie too.”

“We could do it again sometime? I mean, tonight we have the sermon and then dinner and lights out, but tomorrow? We could go swimming?” 

“Yeah. Yeah, I think I would like that.”

They stood and started the short walk to Hosack.

“What a dumb name,” said Tyler as they stood in front of the sign on the door.

“Right? That's what I thought too. It makes no sense.”

“And what does Linden even mean?

“I think it's a kind of tree.”

“Was Maple not good enough or something?”

They laughed together and Josh opened the door, walking inside. Tyler followed behind and caught it as it was shutting so it didn't slam. Josh tossed a smile over his shoulder and heard a coughing coming from the cabin. Lo and behold, there was Brendon Urie, in all his glory, coughing loudly to hide words.

“COUGH COUGH I ship it COUGH COUGH”

Josh rolled his eyes and sat down on his bed, pulling out his phone. He couldn't focus on anything on his screen though, instead worrying about how to sneak out of the cabin that night. 

Because Josh was not going to be able to wait until tomorrow to talk to Tyler again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Blurryface is my actual custom camp drink and it's incredible, trust me.


	4. In Which Josh and Tyler Break Some Rules

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You know how we were gonna go swimming?"
> 
> "Josh, it's literally the middle of the night."
> 
> "What's your point?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a long break! I was on vacation and then school started up, so I've been super busy! Promise they'll be more frequent starting now! Things are getting pretty good if I do say so myself.

Josh was not sure if there was a God. But Josh was positive that there were angels, and maybe, just maybe, they came in the form of 16 year old boys named Tyler. Maybe they came clothed in black skinny jeans and floral print dress shirts. Perhaps they had eyes like the sun and a smile that shined just as brightly. 

Josh was never quite spiritually moved, but as he stood at that night’s worship session, the experience was close to religious. He watched Tyler as he sang with his eyes closed and hands raised in the air. He watched as Tyler moved his lips while he prayed in a whisper. He watched while Tyler payed close attention to the service speech. All too soon, Josh was startled out of his daze as evening session ended and everyone stood to head to dinner.

He followed the mass of campers heading to the mess hall, losing sight of Tyler in the sea of all the people. Damn. He would have to find him later, when they had to sit with their cabins to eat. But that meant Brendon would also be present. Josh sighed loudly, attracting the attention of a few people around him, and hoped his friend could keep the sexual jokes to a minimum for at least that day. 

As the mess hall grew closer, the group began to disperse to find cabins groups. Josh headed for the food line first, deciding to beat the rush. He realized just how hungry he was when a slice of pepperoni pizza was plopped onto his tray. Josh spun around to find the assigned table for Hosack cabin and once he spotted it, he made his way over.

Pizza was one of the few good things left in this world, Josh decided. Another would be Tyler. 

Tyler, who had popped out of nowhere once again. Tyler, whom Josh had just tripped over once again.  
Tyler, whom Josh had accidentally dumped all his pizza on.

Shit.

“Gotta stop running into each other like this. Literally.” Tyler said as soon as he got to his feet, extending an arm to help Josh up.

“Shit, I'm so sorry, I'll try and clean it up. God, I'm a klutz, I'm so sorry.”

“Hey, don't worry about it.”

Josh smiled.

“As long as you buy me another smoothie, it's all good.”

Josh smiled wider.

“Done and done.”

Once at the table, with a new slice of pizza and a smiling Tyler by his side, Josh made it through the rest of dinner without embarrassing himself yet again. Brendon only made one joke about sex, and Tyler didn't even notice. The night was far from a success, but Josh had time to improve. He smiled to himself as he contemplated his plans for that night.

•••••••••••••••

“Pst. Ty-guy. Wake up,” Josh whispered harshly while gently shaking the boy in the bunk above his.

Tyler woke with a start, flailing his limbs and jolting upright in bed. Josh pressed a finger to his lips to motion for him to be quiet and Tyler's face lay frozen with his mouth forming an ‘o’. 

“Josh? What on earth are you doing?”

Tyler spoke extremely quietly and Josh responded in a similar tone.

“You know how we were gonna go swimming?” 

Tyler's expression turned into one of confusion as he nodded but remained silent.

“Well, I figured now is as good of a time as any.”

“Josh, it's literally the middle of the night.”

“What's your point?”

Tyler sighed as he answered.

“We're gonna get in trouble.”

“I've done this a million times, come on, please?”

Tyler seemed hesitant but he nodded. He slipped out from under the cover of his sleeping bag and sneaked down the ladder to the ground. Flinching as his toes hit the cold wood, he slipped on the flip-flops that were placed under the bottom bunk. Josh was already fully dressed and ready to go, having planned ahead. The older boy walked over to the door, cringing as a floorboard creaked under his weight. Opening the squeaky door, he turned to make sure Tyler was still behind him. He smiled when he saw his disheveled hair, low cut tank top, and basketball shorts. Even at one in the morning, he still looked adorable.

They walked quietly, as to not awaken any of the other cabins, in fear of being caught. Josh knew the camp like the back of his hand, and even in the tar black night, he lead Tyler to the lake without the slightest hesitation. 

“Um, Josh?” Tyler spoke in a soft whisper.

“You don't have to whisper, no one’s even near us.”

“Sorry.” Tyler whispered. He cleared his throat and apologized once more, speaking louder this time.

“What were you going to say?” Josh replied with a grin.

“Oh, well, we don't have any swimsuits.”

“So?”

Josh began to strip to his boxers, smirking when he saw Tyler gaping. Josh laughed as Tyler stared, jaw dropped.

“Close your mouth, you'll catch flies.”

He did. 

“So, are you just gonna stand there? Or are you coming in?”

Tyler was silent as he shrugged. Josh huffed as he walked toward the edge of the dock. He turned to face Tyler and backflipped into the water, soaking the other boy in the process. Josh surfaced, giggling loudly as he saw Tyler with his clothes drenched. 

“Oops. Sorry. Might as well come in now though. I already got you pretty wet.”

Tyler sighed as he removed his shirt. He threw it onto the pile of Josh's clothes and cannonballed next to Josh. He was still wearing his basketball shorts, and as he surfaced, he began to laugh too. They floated on their backs, one of them occasionally flipping over to splash the other, engaging in a battle of who could force the other to surrender. Tyler won every time. Josh told him that he let him win. 

They continued to float quietly after the last of their wars, looking up at the stars above the lake. Tyler spoke, breaking the silence.

“Josh?”

The blue haired boy hummed in response.

“Do you think I'm cute?”

“I mean, I guess.”

“Okay.”

“Is that all?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.”

The silence was even softer than before, but also so much harder. Minutes passed and once again, it was Tyler who broke it with a whisper.

“I think you're cute too.”

“Yeah?”

Josh smiled at Tyler. Tyler smiled at Josh.

“Yeah.”


	5. In Which Josh and Tyler Get Caught (more or less)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'so, you're gay then?'  
> 'apparently.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY ITS BEEN SO LONG SINCE I UPDATED. School and swimming are killing me, but I'm gonna try and update more! This chapter is also very short, I just needed to get an update out there.

Wet hair and still drying clothes, the boys scurried back to the cabin as quietly as possible. They didn't wake anyone up, a quite impressive feat considering that they giggled every time they looked at each other. Stopping on the very front porch, Josh sat down and Tyler followed his example.

“So,” Josh started, “you're gay then?”

Tyler replied in a hushed voice.

“Apparently.”

“Huh. I for sure thought you were straight.”

Tyler gasped in mock offense.

“What would possibly make you think that?”

Josh giggled and replied, “Oh I don't know, only the fact that you're pretty much the poster child for the Christian religion.”

Tyler shrugged and opened his mouth to speak when the door squeaked open. Josh winced; he was sure that Gerard had caught them when a messy haired Brendon appeared in the doorway. As Josh examined closer, he noticed that an equally shaken Dallon was close behind.

“Josh? What the hell are you doing out here?” Brendon whisper-yelled as he shut the door behind Dallon. 

“I could ask you the same thing,” Josh said in defense.

“I'm sneaking out with a cute guy,” Brendon said in the same tone as Dallon blushed behind him.

“So am I!” Josh yelled even more defensively.

“Wait, what?” Brendon laughed. “No goddamn way.”

Josh rolled his eyes and reached for the door, but it swung open once again, this time revealing an obviously tired and very angry Gerard. 

“All of you, inside, now,” he said sternly.

The boys all shuffled in as fast as possible, Tyler being the last one through.

Gerard turned on all the lights and clapped his hands loudly.

“Alright, all of you, up and at ‘em, now.”

The boys from the cabin groggily raised their blankets to hide under; but Gerard continued to yell until they were all awake. To some extent, at least.

“It has come to my attention that some of you have been sneaking out. This is unacceptable.”

Josh sighed and looked over to see Tyler with a worried look on his face, chewing on his lip once again. 

“You can't be leaving the cabin in the middle of the night or you'll get in some serious trouble.”

Brendon crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.

“Unless you tell me first, that is.”

“What the hell?” Brendon asked.

Gerard replied quickly, “I mean, I was a camper a few years ago, and I don't really care what you do, as long as you use protection or whatever.”

Tyler blushed as the counsellor continued.

“Just make sure you let me know so I can cover for you if Pete catches you or something. Now if you'll excuse me, I need my beauty rest, so go back to having sex in the forest or something.”

The cabin was utterly silent in shock for a moment when Brendon broke it.

“Sweet! Okay, Dallon, let’s go have forest sex.”

Dallon muttered something about how he wasn't about to have sex in a forest as he shuffled out the door after Brendon.

Josh leaned over to Tyler and whispered, “So, do you wanna go back out there?”

“I think I've had enough of an adventure for the night.”

“Agreed. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

Tyler was climbing into his bunk when he asked, “Hey, Josh? Could I take the bottom bunk? I've always been more of a bottom person.”

Josh sighed, but gave in and moved.

Tyler snuggled into his new bed and whispered once more.

“Josh?"

Josh grunted in response.

“Can we go look at stars tomorrow?”

“You got it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, let me know if the shorter chapters more often or the longer chapters less often would be better. Swim is over this week, so I should have more time to post! Thank you all for reading. My Instagram is @heavydirtybadlands so you can all yell at me.


	6. In Which Josh Further Corrupts the Poster Child

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Tyler Joseph, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were friendzoning me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow. i am so incredibly sorry that i am the worst at updating ever. i would promise to upload more frequently, but if I'm being honest, I'm probably gonna still be slow. anyways, enjoy this short chapter as a Christmas gift.

Josh woke up to see a smiling Tyler sitting at the foot of his bunk, reading a book. Tyler looked up and smiled upon seeing Josh awake.

“Finally, you took forever, you're gonna miss breakfast.” Tyler scolded him.

Josh laughed, “What’re you reading there?”

“I just randomly picked it up from the library a few weeks ago, it's called All My Sons. It's a play, actually.”

“Is it any good?”

“I mean, if you love crushing existential dilemmas. Which I happen to be a big fan of, so yeah, I like it.”

Tyler looked up from the play and smiled at Josh.

“Wanna go get something to eat?,” Tyler asked Josh. “I think they have cinnamon rolls today.”

Josh yawned, nodded, and replied, “Yeah, that would be awesome.”

Tyler smiled and hopped over the railing of the top bunk. He pulled on a pair of basketball shorts and a Nike hoodie.

“Well don't you just look like the perfect stereotype?”

Tyler laughed in response to Josh’s question, shaking his head as he did so.

“At least I'm getting dressed, slowpoke. You should hurry up, or you'll miss breakfast.”

“Alright, Alright, I’m coming.”

Josh groaned as he rolled off the vinyl mattress and climbed the ladder down to the cold wood floor.

“ I hate that stupid top bunk, is it too late to trade back?” He spoke as he descended.

“Sorry bud, I'm afraid it is.”

“Bud? Bud? Tyler Joseph, if I didn't know better, I would say you're friendzoning me.”

“Well, Joshua Dun, if I said what I wanted to, I could very well get the both of us kicked out of this camp.”

“Wow, it's only been a few days and I'm already corrupting you. The next two weeks are going to be a blast.”

Tyler giggled and threw a balled up t-shirt at Josh, still sitting on the ladder. 

“Whatever you say, babe.”

“That's more like it,” Josh said with a coy smile as he slipped on the aforementioned shirt, featuring the logo of an obscure band that seemed to be of the waytoocoolforyou, thankyouverymuch genre. He then dug in his pile of clothes for a pair of black ripped skinny jeans, sliding into those as well. Tyler raised an eyebrow.

“So who's the stereotype now?”

“Oh shut up, you're lucky you're cute.”

Tyler hummed in response and walked toward the creaking door, the floor equally noisy. He held it open for Josh as he followed, and shut it behind the two of them. They walked closely, hands brushing but not held. This time, Tyler asked Josh a series of questions as leaves crunched underfoot.

“Narnia or Harry Potter?”

“Psh, Harry Potter, no question.”

“Worst way to die?”

“Drowning.”

“Best way to die”

“Being set on fire, duh.”

The lighthearted interrogation continued until the two reached the mess hall. Once again, Tyler held open the door for Josh and ducked under after him. After receiving their breakfast (Josh may have ducked into the kitchen and stolen some of the counselors coffee) the pair headed to find seats. Josh was the first to notice Brendon and Dallon sitting (very) close together and waved at the two. He made his way over, Tyler in tow, and sat down across from the earlier mentioned couple. Brendon perked up immediately, if even possible. His mood was simply radiant, obviously flowing from some previous encounter. Josh guessed the culprit was sitting right next to him, Dallon.

“So,” Josh began to ask, “how was the forest sex?”

Dallon shook his head furiously and began to protest but was interrupted by Brendon.

“Amazing. Seriously, I thought it would be mediocre at best but it was incredible.”

Dallon sighed loudly and cradled his head in his arms on the table. Tyler giggled in the most adorable way imaginable and Josh reached over to gently squeeze his thigh. Tyler looked up at him and Josh just winked in response. Tyler blushed, only egging him on to continue teasing. Once again, however, Brendon interrupted; only this time he offered a proposal.

“I've got a killer idea. What do you all say to ditching the morning service and heading to my spot.”

Josh was in immediate agreement, but then remembered Tyler. He glanced over at him and shot a sympathetic look.

“If you don't want to, that's okay. I know getting wasted at camp isn't really your thing, Ty.”

Tyler stuttered as he spoke.

“I mean, uh, I don't know. I'm not sure, I just…”

“It's alright, you don't have to.”

“No, but I want to. Let’s do it. I'll do it.”

Brendon spoke up again. 

“Sick, sounds like a plan then. It’ll be great.”

Tyler grabbed Josh's hand under the table. Josh looked up and gave a crooked smile. He leaned over and whispered, “I promise, it'll be fun. And we can always leave if you want.”

Tyler squeezed his hand and gave a single nod.

“Alright.”

**Author's Note:**

> I was originally going to make this a one shot, but I had way too much plot I wanted to fit in, so you get a chaptered summer camp au!!


End file.
